ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00053542
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Anthony Pickford | Busy Kids Creche |
Representatives | Self represented | Desmond Ryan B.L., instructed by Clark Hill Solicitors LLP |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 | CA-00065364-001 | 08/08/2024 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 | CA-00065364-004 | 08/08/2024 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 14/01/2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Conor Stokes
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and/or Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 - 2015, following the referral of the complaints to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints.
Background:
This matter was heard by way of remote hearing pursuant to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2020 and S.I. No. 359/2020 which designates the WRC as a body empowered to hold remote hearings. The issue of time limits was raised as a preliminary matter. The complainant undertook to give his evidence under affirmation, while one witness for the respondent undertook to give her evidence under affirmation. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The complainant confirmed that he resigned on 14 September 2022 and took his complaint to the WRC in August 2024. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent submitted that the complaint was made outside of the time limits laid down in legislation. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The time limits for presenting complaints are laid down in the Workplace Relations Act 2015. Section 41(6) & (8) deal with the timeframe and state as follows: (6) Subject to subsection (8), an adjudication officer shall not entertain a complaint referred to him or her under this section if it has been presented to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates. … (8) An adjudication officer may entertain a complaint or dispute to which this section applies presented or referred to the Director General after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (6) or (7) (but not later than 6 months after such expiration), as the case may be, if he or she is satisfied that the failure to present the complaint or refer the dispute within that period was due to reasonable cause. Having regard to both Sections and to the complainant’s evidence of his date of resignation, I find that the complainant has lodged these complaints outside the maximum timeframe possible under the legislation, i.e., 12 months. Accordingly, I am precluded from entertaining this complaint. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the unfair dismissal claim consisting of a grant of redress in accordance with section 7 of the 1977 Act.
Having regard to all the circumstances of this complaint, my decision is that the complaints were lodged with the Director of the WRC outside the time frame permitted under the legislation. |
Dated: 15th January 2025.
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Conor Stokes
Key Words:
Unfair Dismissals Act – Employment Equality Act – Workplace Relations Act – time limits – complaints taken outside of legislative timeframe |